Halo: Our Shielded World
by T.Godz
Summary: While the Human-Covenant war violently rages, lies an ancient Forerunner world. Its inhabitants sheltered in the deep reaches of space, protected in the embrace of the shield world. A Forerunner experiment that looped for thousands of years, it reaches that time again. Will the ancient races destroy each other once more or will they face the fallout of a war they know nothing about
1. Prologue

_PROLOGUE_

In time past the Forerunners had only one legacy, us for they had no legacy of their own perhaps with exception to their soulless creations. Their war with the flood was a long brutal one, yet it was futile they had not prepared for the ferocity of the Flood and in the end was their demise. Before their entire civilisation was lost they saved the species whose DNA had been indexed by repopulating planets left desolate after the activation of the Halo rings. They did however also try something extraordinary that is to test the co-operation of the indexed species within a shield world. A world protected by any horrors that lay await in the galaxy, immune from the Halo rings. Here, life would go on, ignorant in its self contained environment. Perhaps these species would have something that the Forerunners didn't in times of peril; reassurance, a friend to lean on, diversity and most important of all, unity.

Having imprinted each of the species forerunner beliefs of peace and cohabitation with fellow beings and their language, they left the shield world to carry out the destruction of the galaxy for its eventual salvation. The shield world remained dormant in for millions of years, its non-organic keepers supporting the world ready for its journey to support life.

Roughly two thousand years previous to present time, the races were awakened from slumber and released into the Eden world, with their predecessors learning's fresh in their minds times of peace and prosperity were enjoyed by all races with each other. That was until their own needs came before that of the collective, single races breaking away, war, famine in suit. The forerunners had underestimated each races hereditary biological factor, affecting their motives for living in this new world.

More recently over the past few centuries, an increased development in technology has been allowed to progress with the races once more able to peacefully share the same world raising them to a mix of Tier 6 to Tier 4 technologies. Their study of their mechanical hosts and Forerunner structures paved the way for Tier 4 medical advances and various technologies however the shield world prevents any of the species leaving the planet therefore creating a progressed Post-Industrial world.


	2. Chapter 1  Unrest

The smooth rumble of the limousine racing over crusty concrete and the occasional blast from each passing vehicle on the highway echoed in Jimmy Carson's mind as he reviewed all that had occurred over the past week, how quickly the situation had blown out of proportion from the media, accusing just about every other god damn race for the destruction of shipping yards in Carlé. Carlé was the country belonging to humanity, it was hit by multiple explosions about four days ago causing minor casualties and injuries. This act of aggression if committed by another country could spark all out war if the situation was not quelled peacefully early on. Carson had no evidence passed along to him from Carle's military concerning who may have carried out these spiteful bombings.

"Has your military uncovered anything Jim?" Carson was brought back to the real world by the voice of Kep, ambassador to the Kig-Yar nation. Humans and the Kig-Yar always did prosper from a mutual relationship stemming down centuries back for their shared use of mercantile and travelling vast oceans to expand and grow their civilisations. The friendship of the two races became vital in remaining as free states, being the smallest and weakest of the species in the world put them at a distinct disadvantage in any combat situations with the other races, with exception to the Unggoy however the Unggoy have natural protection from invasion as they are habituated in the south polar region of the planet which has its own methane eco-system upheld by old Forerunner technologies. Investigation or sabotage of the barrier supporting the drastic change in atmosphere is prohibited from the flying Forerunner mechanical protectors, dubbed Sentinels by most people.

Carson looked up at Kep whose grey skin almost matched the colour of his black suit with exception to his bright blue plumage, his skin was slightly aged as was Carson's, he never did ask Kep his age but he remembered being surprised to find out how old he was when he was invited to Kep's 43rd birthday celebration about nine years ago. Despite all their talks as friends he had never got his age out of him directly Carson believed he didn't like talking about it, both of their respective political parties had both been in power now for about a decade. Many thought that the lasting relationship of the two countries was upheld if not strengthened by the two of them; the relationship strengthened both countries making both parties very popular back in their respective homes. The two of them had become very close within that time.

"Not a single thing, there were no reports of anyone out of the ordinary entering or exiting the area."

"The only connection in these attacks is that they have only been carried out in our countries." Carson didn't like to admit it but Kep was one hundred percent accurate, he even hoped that the Sangheili or Jiralhanae nations would be bombed so he could rule out either of them of being the culprits.

Many people were sceptic of how much control the Human Kig-Yar alliance had become; many dubbed them the world's super power able to have great influence over the other nations of the world with a stronger economy and military than the other nations however with one major yet unconvincing suspect, the nation of Spire. This nation of Spire was founded only 74 years ago, named for its location, an old Forerunner superstructure that dominated the sky above. It was an independent republic state made up of all the races; Human, Kig-Yar, Sangheili, Jiralhanae and Unggoy. Its Unggoy population was very large due to the Unggoy visiting the Spire as part of their pilgrimage; the Unggoy followed the original teachings of the Forerunners almost like a religion after the Dilap Dynasty about seven centuries ago, the Dilap family run the whole of the southern pole as a monarchy encouraging heavy breeding and war with the north. The high reproduction rate of the Unggoy led them to almost rule the world but one last reunited resistance of all the races pushed them back into the southern polar region, to this day all Unggoy believe strongly in Forerunner teachings of peace, some believe it is because of guilt some believe it was to avoid destruction from the other races. Spire also had a very large Sangheili population, the Sangheili strongly boast themselves as strong warriors, and those in their community who are not are resented as weak. Those who lacked the ability to fight and excelled in art, science, mechanics fled the Sangheili nation to live a better life in Spire, this greatly weakened Jijoori the Sangheili nation for without those to uphold all other aspects of the strong country such as economy and technology the country slowly declined in power.

Carson hesitantly threw out pessimistic possibilities "Is it possible that Jijoori, Veruas, Dilap or even Spire would attack us to try and weaken us for possible invasion or gain a stronger influence globally?" his facial features all started moving out of their resting place as his anxiety washed over him, publically he was a stone politician but he felt relaxed around Kep and their bodyguards feeling the need to not hide his emotions or thoughts.

"I guess we'll find out when we get to the summit. Your argument prepared?" This summit had been called by the Human Kig-Yar coalition in response to the attacks on their countries, each meeting of nations would be held in a different country each time in a rotation, this time being Spire. Security was at double the usual standard at Spire this year for the summit talks as Spire was celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Carson could feel the tension of the possible dangers from the bodyguards sitting with Kep and himself in the limousine it mattered not whether they had jaws, beaks or mandibles they all lived to protect Kep and himself with their lives if not because they had grown somewhat close because the pay check was tripled if all went smoothly.

"I'm going to have to lay into Veruas, they are not co-operating with our demands to search their country, and everyone else is letting us except for them."

"You're going to try and negotiate with that ape Bratus?" Kep peered over at Treatus "No offense." The Jiralhanae simply stared forward through blacked out sunglasses as if the radio in his ear blocked out all that Kep had said.

"Do I have a choice? As Prime Minister of Carlé it's my duty to do what I can for its residents." The mood in the limousine turned sour for the remainder of the journey for the two of them knew what was at stake, it was impossible to ignore the strong feeling rising in his gut anymore. That was until they reached Spire's global embassy palace, all the architecture in Spire reflected that of Forerunner design, looking out the window Carson witnessed the sleek buildings most of them having walls that angled in some fashion, the area was somewhat brighter than usual, the lanterns luminescence giving the streets a colourful life. People of all races were out celebrating with each other the toneless clashing of glasses, drunken rants, speechless flirtations, all Carson could see was a soundless scene, the absence of audio created from being stuck in the vehicle.

The limousine pulled up to the entrance of the embassy which was swamped with the press and paparazzi, Kep and Carson both removed themselves with obscured reluctance with painted smiles and waving frantically at the press. As they were marched through the narrow alley through the press created by their bodyguards Carson's ears were pounded with questions too many for him to pick any out, he just smiled, nodded and kept waving as he was pushed up the stairs from what he assumed were his bodyguards, blinded from all the flash photography.

Inside the negotiation chambers the decor matched that angular metallic Forerunner design, around the table sat the representatives of; Spire, Veruas, Jijoori, Dilap, himself and Kep. Both Carlé and Sou'ot were internationally recognised as individual states and saw themselves as separate states however for the past decade their joint actions led other nations to be wary of their close relationship especially when addressing either one of the nations at these summits.

Each representative was now seated and talks got underway, many of the topics to be discussed had gone well. The Sangheili of Jijoori were concerned with the amount of intellectuals leaving their country, they were proposing a quarantine or stopping them from leaving by force, this worried Dilap for it breached the ancient Forerunner Sentient Being Rights Act that all countries had agreed to sign and be part of 70 years ago, to appease Jijoori; Dilap, Carlé and Sou'ot agreed to send them aid in the form of workers and teachers from each of their respective countries to help boost their economy and technological advances, this would be new for young residents of Jijoori as fighting arts had always been put ahead of academic skills but now both would be taught at the same level.

One problem remained: Veruas. All other states had a bone to pick with them for not only did they seem reluctant to co-operate with other nations on most topics but they were abusing non-Jiralhanae residents as well as acting cagey every time terrorist attacks were brought up in conversation. It was not unusual for species not native to a Country to reside there for each Country did not stop immigration, many emigrated to Sou'ot for its temperate and reliable climate, people emigrated to Jijoori for business opportunity or for the adventure and thrill seeking experience of their martial beliefs and old architecture style, people lived in Carlé for the human race was the most open minded due to their inquisitive nature and the most recent government pushed political correctness and forward thinking making the people of Carlé famous for their hospitality and making cross-species relationships all the rage, people often visited Dilap for spiritual cleansing however most of those in Veruas only lived there trapped there from the fallout of the Pack Wars which followed the Dilap Dynasty, the Jiralhanae saw an opportunity to make their packs the strongest, their society became fragmented many using foreign slaves to try and outcompete one another. The following generations of these slaves even after the abolition of slavery and apartheid were still treated with somewhat racist views by the Jiralhanae any that did flee fled to Spire the nearest Country which boasted the strongest multi-cultural population in the world which somehow worked for Spire even from its creation all species living there melded together harmoniously without qualm.

Bratus had spent most of the evening slyly dodging anything that had been thrown his way that was until Carson somewhat overstepped the boundary "These attacks on our cities must not be allowed to continue! They could spread to any other country it is within your best interest so please tell us why you persist on not letting us into your Country, that is unless you have something to hide." The entire assembly burst into an uproar the moment after the sentence escaped Carson's lips. There was a flurry of papers that diplomats were holding, people's words attempting to calm the situation together made an even worse mess of chorus. Bratus stood from his seat "Just because I do not want my Country to be sodomised by brash falsely accused investigations, that's more than I can say for your relationship with Sou'ot." Once again the chamber erupted into squabbling from all aides parties and the leading representatives from each Country themselves, Carson had always noticed how much things harder had become with Bratus, he was elected based on his old line ideology that being dominance earns respect, it reflected from his attire. He was the only politician to wear old military clothing back from when he was a General, his aged white platted beard overlapped old rusted medals, his facial features always looking angry at least for a Jiralhanae, his negotiation was sincere to the point and sometimes quite insulting, it made him quite famous around the world politically, whether it was out of respect or facing the firing squads of comedians who ripped apart his persona and famous quotes, no doubt his last remark would be front page along with a nice cartoon of Carson engaging in sexual acts with Kep in the papers the next morning.

In the war cries of negotiations in the chamber he met eyes with Kep who he shaked his head at admitting that this debate was going to get them nowhere with Bratus. The summit was soon adjourned after the deafening banter had ceased, Carson was forced to shake hands with one of Bratus' deputies as Bratus clearly stood in the background with his back to Carson.

Carson was back in the limousine with Kep except the mood this time was somewhat more relieved from the hype of the summit that was until Kep uttered "I think we should send covert military reconnaissance in to uncover just what the fuck is going on." This abrupt side of Kep reflected the Kig-Yars slightly more aggressive nature to that of the Humans.

"And I was just about to say how at least he agreed to do something about the treatment of non-Jiralhanae in his country. Damn it Kep I'm not sure about this, this could throw all that we've worked to create over these long fucking years."

"We have the best mixed race task force secretly kept from the world; they will be in and out before anyone can say Z.E.T.T.I.C."

"But Z.E.T.T.I.C are illegal we're not supposed to be coherent when using our military, I don't even know why I agreed to its formation. Dilap will go crazy." It was Dilap that proposed The Independent Military Doctrine 30 or so years ago so that even if countries were in collaboration it would stop one group having too much power. Instead of replying Kep just passed Carson a mobile phone. Leaning forward and clasping his hands together "It's for the best Jim and you know it" The two of them spent all night organizing the top secret infiltration of Veruas with the collaboration of the top Generals of both of their nations, the mission would go ahead tomorrow night, the sooner it started the more off guard Veruas would be.


	3. Chapter 2 Veruas' Secret

One, two, three...four Terel observed the formation of Theraux support craft that were immaculately held in place in a standard military formation, the clouds brushed past the machines and inadvertently foiled their mannequin like illusion. While Terel gazed out the side viewport, radio chatter flared up on the squad's communications devices hailing from one of the neighbouring craft "Tell Cas she's perfectly welcome into human arms if mandibles and beaks don't taste so good." Terel turned his head and noticed she had bitten the bait on the squad's behalf.

"I'd rather spend my life in the methane swamps of the South Pole, it would smell better." but she bit hard.

"Yeah right, Brasque out." The rasp tone belonged to Brasque, the leader of Bravo Squad, the only full Human squad of Z.E.T.T.I.C. Cas was savouring victory, the smug was steaming off her face. An abrupt crunch filled the cargo hold that Terel's team had been preparing for. The sound had emanated from the Kig-Yar holding a pear with a chunk missing, procuring the perfect indentation of his beak. They called him Pear for the obvious reason, his actual name had become a distant blur, Cas had thought of the nickname shortly after the team was put together. The slender framed Kig-Yar stuffed the Pear into his mouth to free his hands, with slight pressure and the correct technique the stock off his Falem Sniper rifle broke away from the main body reducing its span to that of his equipment pack.

A second and distinctly different Kig-Yar approached Terel bearing a Zylon assault rifle in each hand, the Zylon was of Jigoori design, Terel ran his hand along its body, a sense of pride filled him handling an object that made him proud of his somewhat dying home country, despite not living there for years or really caring for it either way. This other Kig-Yar was Zyl, he was much larger than Pear physically with a physique pressing on the insides of his body armour, almost bursting to get out of armour that had to be mildly customised to squeeze his build into it, being almost six and a half foot tall he was the only Kig-Yar that Terel had ever met that didn't cause an ache in his neck to share eye contact with. The Zylon assault rifles had a hoarding of attachments however, if that wasn't enough Zyl slid a MKII grenade launcher onto the underside of the barrel on the gun until it clicked into place.

The cargo hold violently illuminated red signifying their drop point was closing. Amongst the increased pressure to get prepared for their 30,000 ft freefall insertion, they had to check their equipment, ammunition and everything else they would need to survive. Terel, as the squad leader, couldn't help but re-think over what they had been assigned to do. They were to investigate a facility in Veruas to search for high profile hazardous weapons of aggression that were a violation to peace and a threat towards any other nation. The other squads would investigate other facilities scattered over Veruas, this was all to be done covertly and strictly had no involvement with Sou'ot or Carlé, or so they were supposed to say.

The four of them lined up at the edge of the loading ramp, as it lowered, the natural light started flooding in seemingly pushed through by a strong gale which completely deafened Terel. However, he knew the ramp was moaning as it lowered and how numbingly bitter the wind would be if not for his full body armour.

The segment of metallic ramp Terel had focused his gaze on reflected dull green light, through the teams years of experience they had learnt to follow their actions like it was a rooted gut instinct they were born with, each throwing themselves off the ramp plunging themselves in the free fall into the foreign land below. The blotches of orange and red below that peeked through wisps of cloud reflected the barren desert wasteland where their objective was situated. The squad of four fought against a relenting resistance as the invisible hand of gravity ripped them through it uniting them with the sand bogged region of Veruas. Being the largest, Terel closed down on the land below, pulling away from his right shoulder, the chord in his pack lost its tension as his parachute flung out. It took several seconds to unravel until a sharp jolt wrecked through Terel's body, he slowed down in his decent to the ground below. Terel observed the landscape below grow larger, he awaited the touchdown which always seemed more painful every time, especially if this time sand got in his eyes.

Terel unstrapped the parachute pack, furiously he dug away at the sand and tossed the pack in the hole, he made certain to cover it back over sealing the parachute in its sand coffin. Just as was described from intelligence there was a small mountain in the distance, Terel shouldered his rifle and made haste towards the mountain, his large legs carried him swiftly. Terel figured the others would have touched down by now "Team report in"

"Two here, on route to the rendezvous." Terel raised his wrist, his navigational marker showed Tyl about the same distance away from the mountain as he was.

"Three reporting. I'm about half way there. Over"

"Four reporting, already at the peak of the mountain. I've got eyes on the target..." In a pause a brayed crunch covered the frequency "It's just like in the intelligence."

No matter how many times Terel tried to tell Pear not to bring those wretched things on missions he always managed to hide them somewhere on him even if he was searched. Terel seized the opportunity to reinstate his teams focus. "Everyone make your way to the rendezvous point, Four, keep your eyes on the target and notify me of any anomalies."

Terel's legs clashed with the cold breeze that whipped over the high mountain top, it slithered through every crevice the mountain had to offer, Terel's legs however had faced years of conditioning from his illustrious and violent background, the air rolled past with little effect. Terel finally peered over a cindered coloured piece of rock careful not to exert too much pressure on its serrated edge, he could see the rest of the squad were prone ogling down at the their target below, he felt like an embarrassed kid late to a party. He wedged his rifle into a crack in a rock and got down beside Cas, the equipment pockets of his armour prodded into his chest bringing much discomfort. The mountain side had no clear path of decent to the barren plateau beneath, the jagged rocks and weathered ledges only made it more troublesome, the decent down the mountain side was only the first miniscule hurdle of the entire mission. The team looked on at their target, waiting for the sun to retire, to make their move.

"What exactly do you think they have down there?" Cas's inquisition finally broke the silence.

"Well from what's been happening across Carle and Sou'ot lately I'd at least expect to find ordinance of some kind." Terel replied.

"They definitely have the room for it. Perhaps we'll even find nukes." Zyl probed.

"Hmph, I doubt this country could afford such things. There'd be nothing stopping them cooking up cheap biological weapons though. Terel and the others continued to discuss as darkness fell across the landscape.

"Well I guess now we get to find out, sorry bud..." Zyl slapped his enormous hand onto Pear's back flinging the Pear in his mouth down the mountain side "but I get the feeling you're staying here."

"Tch... Never mind, It's what I do best." Pear had another fruit in his hand. "I've got all the 'company I need." He bit into it as he finished.

Terel barked out his final orders and the three of them left down the mountain side leaving Pear to over watch with his eagle eye and night vision sniper rifle.

The moon watched as pliers eroded away at the metal until it snapped, finally giving way to Zyl's strong hand "We're in the base, four do we have contact?"

"Negative, just two contacts outside the main storage facility, there is activity in the barracks, try not to disturb them. Oooh I think they are having a party." The moon light and stars gave Pear company as he stared down at the hostile base through the scope of his rifle, way up from his nest on the mountain side as the others infiltrated the base.

"Affirmative, one out" Terel gestured for Cas and Zyl to move in ahead of him. The layout of the base was an exact match of the intelligence, every building, every pathway, the masking darkness hindered the teams progress very little as they weaved through alternate routes until they all ended looking at the same destination. A rusted storage facility with a set of large hanger doors, two Jiralhanae idly stood at each corner of the door, one shuffled his foot into the dirt, digging out sand and lifting it into the wind.

"Two. On my mark, three, two, one." As the last word escaped his mandibles the muscle in his finger tightened, pulling on the trigger of his rifle. A little kick into his shoulder and a light whisper from the silenced muzzle of his Zylon and the Jiralhanae was on the floor. Cas's target had just as efficiently been quelled. Terel, Cas and Zyl emerged from the darkness, constantly spinning around checking their vectors. Terel clasped the handle to the small door camouflaged at the root of the large hanger door, he slowly pushed it forward pointing the nose of his gun in before him, as expected there lay stacks of crates all throughout the storage hanger "Zyl, keep watch by the door, Cas come with me." Zyl dipped his beak in a nod.

"Damn, look at all the crates. There must be enough to blow a city in this lot." Cas exclaimed.

Cas positioned her satchel on the floor and removed a small electronic device, she flicked the switch bringing its display to life. "Strange, there's no reading." Beguilement on her face, she stared at Terel , expecting him to have an answer.

"The new weapons must be here, we'll look further in." Cas waved the device around as they continued further into the facility, however much they looked the device would not sound, there was nowhere else to look in the entire complex. Terel could feel his blood starting to rise, something about this mission was way off, the lack of security, the lack of weapons, he silently begged the reader to start chiming, providing them with the evidence they needed to give their mission validity.

"What the fuck, where are they. You sure that things working?" Terel aggressively hushed at Cas.

"Yes of course it bloody works." Her being the teams technical expert she appeared rather upset at the lack of faith in her equipment. Terel's impatience showed as he grabbed the nearest crate to him in one hand "What are you doing, Be careful with those!" Cas almost yelled. Terel ripped the side of the crate off revealing a box of nothing but webs and stale air.

"Continue to scan, this may be a one off." Who was he kidding, Terel knew this crate wasn't a one off but part of him refused to accept the base was empty but it was no use, for every effort made to scan every hollow crate the reader remained dormant, they had failed, the whole mission revealed nothing.

"Perhaps one of the other squads uncovered something." Terel's mind was tormented, perhaps the base was meant to be empty, a masquerade.

"Yeah maybe. But who said there were even any weapons here? We were sent to confirm a suspicion, we haven't failed." Cas attempted to calm Terel down.

"But since when does intelligence fuck up this badly?" Terel exhaled "I was so certain Veruas was behind these attacks." But I guess they're not, he finished in his thoughts. Regardless of how much Terel thought about it the recon was complete and they begrudgingly had to leave and get as much distance between them and the base before the sun rose. Terel placed the weapons of the Jiralhanae guards to frame them of mutual homicide, they knew there were many loop holes in their fragile cover work but if the guards here were as stupid as Terel thought it would give his team enough time for them escape the borders of Veruas and return home with their grave news and redeem themselves with their next assignment.


	4. Chapter 3 The Calm Before The Storm

The mood was going to be sullen, Carson was certain on that much. Both he and Kep had both received the news from their Z.E.T.T.I.C forces scattered across all of Veruas. The mission was a massive risk, if Veruas had caught any of the Z.E.T.T.I.C, a whole war would have broken out. Carson rested his head into the aged skin of his hands, the static noise from the car polluted his mind, it felt like a few days ago when he and Kep ordered the illegal mission to be carried out. He knew he would have to confide in Kep once more and rely on his headstrong, borderline arrogant demeanour.

The limousine carried him towards Kep's mansion with swift pace; he raised his neck, spectating his bodyguards, sitting like melting ice statues, small beads of sweat collecting on their faces. That was one of the reasons Carson disliked coming to Sou'ot, it was so clammy, back in the days of their early relationship Carson was sure Kep used to invite him to Sou'ot for their conferences to throw Carson off, the hallucinogenic heat would make sweat run from his ears, he couldn't understand why so many humans came to this blasted country. He would enjoy inviting Kep over to Carlé during their Winter, Kep could hardly wear enough clothes to keep himself warm, even in Autumn he would wear an arctic jacket, Carson found it most comical. Carson's reflections however came to an abrupt end when the grand yet cold looking charcoal gates slowly opened to Kep's residence.

He stepped out onto the eloquently placed slabs of graphite, the thin soles of his sandals barely protecting his feet from the roasted surface. Kep was there waiting, his plumage fully extended above his head. Carson thought this was odd, how Kep had managed to sleep so well and be so vigorous in these tormenting times, perhaps Kep knew something he didn't or he was plainly happy to see him.

They greeted in the usual informal manner, exchanging pleasantries, catching up with the events of their lives and that of their families. They would meander through the many halls of Kep's estate while they conversed, it felt like he was in an old museum for the hundredth time and Kep was the tour guide. He enjoyed it; it helped the conversation flow as they passed through the sceneries of the house and the garden. They would usually end with the outhouse where they would talk politics, some say Kep had it built especially for when Carson visited, however those who were sceptics of their relationship always did have too many knives for their collective backs. Carson liked the outhouse, it reminded him of an old hunters shed without the animal trophies, Kep had once explained to Carson that he never did like hunting or killing yet he would sometimes coerce Carson down an aggressive path with almost murderous fervour. Carson ripped himself away from his analysis of Kep's personality induced by the rustic outhouse.

Kep pushed a ruffled looking pile of print over to Carson, on it was a playful cartoon depicting Kep and Carson in a sexual embrace reflecting on the heated summit at Spire days earlier. "I appreciate how I'm on top, I should write the artist an endearing letter." Kep jested, his plumage still flared; Carson found it intimidating, the Kig-Yar's lack of anxiety from recent events.

"We have much more pressing matters to deal with." Carson replied with suppressed concern, he was sure Kep teased at times like this to hide his own feelings, asserting his personal self confidence. Carson had learned that replying to Kep like a humourless old man often did the trick.

"Indeed." Kep responded his facial expression reflecting the importance of what they were about to discuss. He and Kep cogitated intensely over each individual report received from their respective units of Z.E.T.T.I.C, the debate bounced back and forth, both of them remaining unenlightened each time it ricocheted. Every report was the same; Veruas had been cleansed like some vision of a post apocalyptic world.

"I don't understand, every single high profile base. There was nothing." Carson frantically flicked through the reports to unveil some sort of revelation. "Perhaps they are working with another state?"

"I guess it's very well possible Veruas could be allied with another state that could be harbouring the weapons, but anyone with the integrity and patience to work with Bratus deserves a medal and would undoubtedly be pulling the strings on their own. To be honest it could be anyone who could be working with him, even you. But I think there is a bigger picture here, maybe it could be a terrorist organisation but I know now it cannot be Veruas." Carson had thought this over many times before, he was not naive, but who else was there? Jijoori was hardly in any position to threaten another state, Dilap was certainly a possibility but they had no reason to start a war, a terrorist organisation, what would their grounds be? He had also personally not entirely excluded Kep out either and Kep mentioning that solidified his effectiveness as a negotiator, he knew Carson couldn't entirely rule him out, why let their tensions remain silent. But it was also slightly a benign gesture; he said he had another theory, so Kep didn't really think it was Carson at all or so Carson believed.

"And what do you suggest?" Carson added. Kep's chest puffed, his words amalgamating.

"It makes sense when you think about it, Veruas is relatively poor. I think Bratus only puts on a show to win voters through a sense of power they can't really achieve, not yet anyway. They have no weapons because they have been lying this entire time, I mean yes at first we thought they could be telling the truth, pumping all their funds into militarisation, and nothing else, but I think the reality is the very little money they do have sustains their country and Bratus' lavish lifestyle."

"If that's the case then Bratus really is a fool, he could unintentionally be someone else's scapegoat, so what, he can stay in power?" Carson hardly doubted Bratus' blind stupidity, having met him on several occasions it was definitely a possibility.

"Yes I believe so, giving a country a reason to believe in itself is an admirable trait but that still leaves us at square one, we don't really have any grounds to suspect anyone else..." Kep chattered his beak in frustration as Carson's phone rudely cut him off. Carson ambivalently picked up the phone, the line was awful and the voice on the other end was undistinguishable, a high pitch voice, before Carson leaped to any conclusions he remembered it could have been the interference tampering with the call.

"Thousands will...I regret...I must...with you...wait..." The call cut off immediately after, the call was ambiguous. "Tch." Carson grunted looking at his phone, a withheld number, who would have called him and who would have gotten hold of his contact details? He knew it was somehow important but his meeting with Kep was at the front of his mind, he impetuously disregarded the call and hung up.

Carson was about to sate Kep's inquisitive nature when a small female Kig-Yar burst through the door in a sudden commotion and ran into Kep's arms, it was his daughter who was clearly upset, the tears streaming down her face spoke volumes. Carson thought it best to let Kep resolve the issue, he nodded at Kep whose face was drowned with embarrassment as he carried her out. Carson admired how passionate Kep was of his daughters, all seven of them, some had grown and left 'the nest' however a few were still juvenile, Carson knew Kep loved having them around. It was another trait that his people admired; the Kig-Yar of Sou'ot always held females in high regard so he having seven daughters was some kind of divine intervention. Years ago the females of Sou'ot were predominantly leaders or matriarchs, until the males of Sou'ot protested and demanded equal rights, coincidentally shortly after the women of Carlé did the same.

Kep entered the room looking a little flustered "I apologise Jim. You were about to say something?"

"Never mind, don't worry. So, we wait to see what Bratus has to say about the attack. If he accuses us, we blame terrorists. If we're lucky and it isn't him behind the bombings then he may grow some sense, be co-operative, and mutually find the perpetrators of the attacks."

"My thoughts exactly, if we can eliminate Veruas entirely from the list of suspects it would put my mind at ease." Kep's encore to the colloquy provided reassurance to Carson, on the other hand, was it safe to be so lenient on Veruas? They had no other leads. Incidentally what was to stop Bratus from cohering with terrorists? Kep's eased attitude had rubbed onto Carson; the more he played it over in his head, the more he became accustomed to the idea of an innocent Veruas, the uncertainty slowly seeping from his conscience. He would have to be more patient and bide his time, enduring any attacks to Carlé hoping they could catch any of the saboteurs in the act.

The guilt weighed heavily on his heart, his inability to protect his constituency from harm and unintentionally using them as bait. But he had no other choice, he would never invade the other countries forcefully, to trample so disgracefully on the peace the world had currently achieved. He would not let that happen and he would never let Kep do the same, even if it meant breaking their countries' strong relationship.


	5. Chapter 4 A New Beginning

"You're here." Feric exclaimed through the thick fog of Methane in the room. A human sauntered into the chamber to which he had been summoned. The small Unggoy, Ambassador of the Dilap nation, like all Unggoy lacked in stature but compensated for his physical down coming in sheer will.

"You know you're never to summon me, this better not be a waste of my time." the human's speech evidently unnerved Feric, his legs quivered, obscured by the stone table. The human's eyes could have killed if not washed out by the face mask of his oxygen life support pack.

"Not summon you? You call attacks all across Veruas without telling me first? What do you expect! Feric curled his hands up into fists, riling himself up.

"Firstly, I'm not talking to you wearing this thing. You invite me over here to breathe in your fetid methane? You better not be trying to disrespect me." Feric ordered Sarkle to change the air filters. He reluctantly slipped on his mask to feed him his personal methane based gas; Sarkle did the same as the chamber sealed itself from the rest of the building, the moisture in the air altered as oxygen based air pumped into the room. The change made the coarse texture of Feric's skin tingle, the thought of his pernicious counterpart removing his mask and rebut overshadowed the feeling.

The human removed the pack revealing features that in Feric's opinion perfectly reflected his treacherous deeds. The human wasn't especially tall amongst that of the human race but his face looked worn, like it had seen several wars over. His hair black like ink settled down having been ruffled by the mask, he sat down opposite Feric. Every action this man did felt slow yet calculating, like every second he was plotting his next malicious action to stab you in the back, Feric hated being around him, despite agreeing to his cause his recent actions had led to Feric heavily doubting his course of actions.

"So you think that was me?..." his pause and his somewhat long gaze showed what belittlement he bared for Feric "Carle and Sou'ot pillage Veruas to find absolutely nothing and you think it was me?"

"W…Why would they...and how do you know it was them? That completely throws our decoy out the window." Feric's lips inadvertently quaked inside his mask. He panicked as he cycled through the oncoming possibilities, increased searching of his country and increased taxes on exports...or the same hostile fate that had befallen Veruas? Feric's dubious thoughts were closed off.

"Don't worry..." Feric looked up in amazement at this man's calm exterior. "They have no reason to believe we're the cause of their troubles, my agent in their Z.E.T.T.I.C special forces assures me of that. Just keep to the plan, their simple minded investigators could never find where the weapons are hidden, they don't have the backbone. Anyway..." as he continued the flick of his wrist and the tone of his voice conveyed his mockery "You're little innocent Dilap, in atonement for the sins of your past. Who could ever suspect you?"

The sheer mockery of his nation angered Feric, he always got over zealous with comments similar to this one, for once he found himself too tired to antagonise the situation, despite taking Dilap's reformed way of life very seriously, just as nearly all the Unggoy of Dilap did, Feric would go to any length to achieve his goal of global peace and give all nations equal rights and shares of the land they were blessed with.

The thought of Carlé and Sou'ot boasting so much power while others lived in such poverty and squalor, trodden down and used to make Carlé and Sou'ot even wealthier made him sick, he inhaled deeply and spoke with grace. "The land of Dilap is now home to a land a reformation, we may have learnt a new way of life over the years but there are those who are still yet to use the power they have for anyone other than themselves. When this is over, be sure you are not one of them."

"When this all started, I contacted you remember? Now when this is all over and we stand high in victory, people will call our names, thanking us for setting them free. No longer will people have to live in dirt, waiting for others to reach down or toss them scraps. There will be no wars, no dying for the sake of petty political rivalry or selfish monarchs. When all the lands are united as one, you know we will have achieved our noble goal." Somehow he had completely dodged Feric's statement and just circulated what he and Feric had already agreed to achieve. Feric always held a doubt over this human, why did he need his help specifically? It always felt like he would be too honest, like there was something so obvious he was hiding, but he just couldn't see it.

"There is only one thing that troubles me. If they did find out it was us, they would accuse us of murdering their people as that is all we have done so far. We haven't even put our message politically, yet people will just wish we never existed for the people they have lost..."

"Silence." The man's face was still, the cause for his digression was unclear. "They may not know the cause, but it is the right one. And what is the point putting our message out there, the rich grasp the power and will never be removed from their comfortable positions of authority." Feric bowed his head, his associate was right. He would have to bear the burden of all the innocent lost to their righteous cause, it crushed his soul. There had been enough killing under the hands of the emperor Dilap the exact treacherous evil he sought to protect people from. The man then continued "Which is exactly why we will have to step up the onslaught on the world, only through the fire can we hope to find anything in the ashes."

"What do you mean?" Feric replied nervously, this man could not confirm what his thoughts mustered. If so, then Feric would not be able to remain seated at this very table, he would bring disgrace to his forefathers.

"I want bombs strategically placed across all of Carlé and Sou'ot; they must know it is they who are the focus of our fury. We will not stop until this world is free and if it takes thousands to die for them to realise that then they brought it on themselves." Feric's insides twisted, the fluid is his gut became unstable; the taste of it rising was sour on his tongue, he fought the urge to vomit knowing it would have to reside until he would be able to take it off. He had come this far with his plan; he had done as the man said. He had tried to grasp at his eventual dream but every time he extended his hand an emperor was there waiting. The horrors of the war plagued his mind the very image of thousands suffering was too much for Feric to handle, he was lucky he did not exist while that war raged. What he had been taught during his short life was heavily ingrained into his conscience, he would not let himself be roped along anymore, the people of Dilap believe the forerunners that left them this world did so because they wanted everything alive to have a chance at the life they could not. Feric's core beliefs at that moment overshadowed everything he had worked on with the human.

He stood up and left the room sharply "You will have to excuse me." The human tried to stop him from leaving. "It's a lot to take in." The arm in front of him lowered removing the barrier preventing him from leaving the room. The air in his mask became stale as he respired faster and faster, he marched up and down the small room that was conjoined to the main room. It was now or never, he had to choose. The new religion of his people that he faithfully worshipped or his hard work with the human, his stubbornness resented the thought of throwing at all away, not to mention the crimes already committed he would be responsible for. He would lose everything, yet he knew he would keep something, the one thing the forerunners expected from the people they had allowed to proceed them. More than just his clear conscience, it would be the lives of thousands, the lives that the forerunners had deemed worthy, it didn't matter what race those lives belonged, they were all saved after all.

He knew he had already let the human go too far, he didn't have much time until the human would get suspicious. He clasped the phone, his delved into his trouser pocket clutching a small note book. His fingers rasped on the pages as he flicked through them. "Yes there it is! Carson, Jimmy Carson!" At this point his intuition of obtaining Carson's number had reversed "Hmm, to think. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer...I don't have time for regret!" the very number he used to snoop his enemy would hopefully be his salvation.

His fingers had hit the numbers in his book but it just humming in his ear, punching his brain. The tone finally came to a stop, Feric had worked himself into such a state of panic he didn't even let the recipient announce themselves "Thousands will die, I regret failing the forerunners. I must speak with you Carson, it's Feric of Dilap..." Why was the line so bad, the Methane atmosphere of the south hadn't affected calls to the north ever since the lines were moved underground, that was unless someone was tampering with the call?

"Shit, wait I..." the door opened behind him, he instinctively slammed the receiver back on the hook. He knew from sounds of the door, where force had been exerted to open it and who it was. It was time use his years of experience as a politician and do what he was best at, lying his face off. He spun around, his mask covered much of his features but it mattered not, his voice was sturdy once more so he walked towards the exit of the room with much composure, straight past the human like he was a stranger on the street. "That was quite alarming; I had to speak to my wife to set my mind straight, but it was no use, the line was so bad I couldn't make out a thing. I accept your proposition, my heart goes out to all those who have to bear the burden of this war but we must finish what we started." He stared at the human with as much fake conviction as he could muster, the human returned his glare.

For several seconds neither of them blinked, Feric tried to look into his eyes and read his thoughts, but he knew that kind of mystic nonsense was about as real as making gold out of a little blonde human girl's hair. The human finally gave in, "So, I plan on having the bombs places at key locations throughout Carlé and Sou'ot in the next couple of weeks, we will then have them set off simultaneously when all the preparation has been concluded.

"What kind of targets are you thinking? If it's industrial or military areas we can reduce the amount of innocent casualties." Feric pried for key information that he could relay onto Carson.

"We've tried hitting their economy over and over but they've got their claws sunk into every nation. We are going to have to let them know we mean business so I was thinking military and government targets. Oh yeah and we're going to have head of state assassinated."

"What!" Feric's teeth nearly sliced his tongue in two.

"Yes, I've observed their actions, how the two nations work together side by side. I've also looked back years into the relationship of Jimmy Carson and Kep Metip, how they've changed over the years since knowing each other, how their decisions have kept their nations so prosperous. How they have both remained on their thrones for so long, the way I see it, if one goes, the other will crumble. What are they without each other?"

"I...I see, so I assume it's one of those two who has to go?" Feric had no idea that things really would escalate this quickly, he tried not to get lost in dreams of what this world would be like if Carlé and Sou'ot weren't so strong, what it would be like if it were all united under one banner.

"Well yes, we are going to remove Kep from office. Without Kep, Carson will have no one to reinforce his hesitant policies, the relationship will eventually fall apart and both nations will open for us to strike.

"I guess...you're right, Kep did always appear more headstrong in debates and during the summits." Feric contemplated as the two of them directed towards the exit of the room.

"There's one thing..." During the human's pause Feric looked over, the human's mask had been left on the table. "You won't be around to see it through." The human's words soared over Feric's head until the sound of drawn metal sewed everything together. A medium sized intricately detailed blade clutched in the human's hand looked directly at him; Feric's mind couldn't keep up with his body, his feet lagging along the floor. The human backed him toward the table, until his hand clasped the edge of the table, blocking him from retreating any further.

"No, hang on a minute. Don't do this!" Feric screeched at the man.

"You've come to the end of your usefulness to me Unggoy. You were ready to rat us out." How did he know Feric had a change of heart, Feric's mind sparked, the interference on the call he made, it was being tabbed.

This was it, Feric had faltered, making that call so rashly. The secret behind the bombings would die with him leaving thousands to die at the hands of the monster, disguised in a flesh suit approaching him one step at a time. He looked around the room until his eyes set on Sarkle, he had been so quiet the entire time Feric had forgotten he had been there. There Sarkle stood, next to the air alteration switch. Feric acted on his observations, spinning round his small fist collided with the human's mask sat on the table cracking it apart.

"Now Sarkle, throw the switch!" he was overjoyed his protégé was there to aid him yet again. He had relied on Sarkle so much over the years, shaping him to be the next Ambassador He knew Sarkle idolised, him why wasn't he moving? "Don't be scare..." Feric lost his breath as immense surged from his abdomen; he looked ahead through strained eyes the human had connected the two of them using the knife as the tether.

"Your assistant?" the human laughed "This day the student becomes the master, this Unggoy is a true leader, loyal to the cause till the end."

"S...Sarkle?" Feric looked down, fluorescent blue liquid oozed from his wound, covering everything. Sarkle had walked over remaining silent in the process; he reached up and placed his hand over the humans.

"I'm sorry Feric, but we will see this through." Sarkle's actions did not reflect his apology as he forced his weight onto the knife pushing the blade all the way in to the hilt. Feric let out a small moan as his strength diminished, he managed to keep his head high, glaring into the eyes of his esteemed protégé. They stared at each other until his eyes started losing their colour, his neck turned slump and his legs eventually gave way.

"Here's the list of the details, I want bombs set off here at the given time. And get in contact with our man in Z.E.T.T.I.C, he is most professional and is well trusted." The human handed the itinerary to the confused Unggoy and headed for the exit. "Keep the knife as a monument to you entitlement of High Ambassador. You know how to contact me." The man slipped on a gas mask of foreign design that he had procured from his pocket and stared at Sarkle. Sarkle flipped the air alteration, pumping Methane based gas back into the room releasing the lock on the door out of the chamber.

The man walked out leaving Sarkle alone with the body of his former mentor; he crouched down and placed his hand on Feric's lifeless shoulder. "Feric you fool; I will finish your ideal of one great country. Just wait for me on the other side." Sarkles fingers gently ran over Ferics eyes, blocking out their faded unnatural tone. The ambassador kept his hand there for sometime while he reflected respectfully, coming to terms with the events that had just transpired.


End file.
